County of Fayette v. Batton
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Error to the Court of Common Pleas of Fayette county: Of January Term, 1885, No. 28. Case stated, wherein John A. Batton was plaintiff, and the County of Fayette was defendant, as follows : John A. Batton, the plaintiff, is and was on the 20th day of February, 1884, coroner in and for the county of Fayette. On that day an explosion from fire-damp occurred in a coal mine at West Leisenring in said county, which resulted in the death of nineteen men.
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Error to the Court of Common Pleas of Fayette county: Of January Term, 1885, No. 28. Case stated, wherein John A. Batton was plaintiff, and the County of Fayette was defendant, as follows : John A. Batton, the plaintiff, is and was on the 20th day of February, 1884, coroner in and for the county of Fayette. On that day an explosion from fire-damp occurred in a coal mine at West Leisenring in said county, which resulted in the death of nineteen men. As soon after the explosion as the circumstances would permit,"the bodies of the deceased were removed from said mine to their' respective homes…
1Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was filed February 16th, 1885.
2Per curiam
It is the duty of a coroner to hold an inquest super visum, eorporum, where he has cause to suspect the deceased was feloniously destroyed or where his death was caused by violence: County of Lancaster v. Mishler, 4 Out., 624.
In the present case the good faith of the coroner, and the necessity for the inquests, are unquestioned. The death of the nineteen persons was caused by violence. Their bodies were not to be treated as if they had been cattle. The body of each required a separate examination. The jury was prop*595exly sworn in each ease…
3Cited by1 opinion
- Andrews PetitionGreene County Court of Quarter Sessions · 1964